Ecological niche

An ecological niche is the role and position of a species in an ecosystem, defined by the conditions, resources, and interactions that allow it to persist and reproduce.

Habitat: The physical place where an organism lives. A habitat is where a species lives; its niche also includes resource use and interactions.
Resource partitioning: The division of limited resources among species through differences in how, where, or when they use them. Species can coexist when their resource use occupies different parts of ecological space.
Joseph Grinnell: An American zoologist whose studies of geographic distribution helped establish the niche as a species’ environmental requirements. Grinnell emphasized the conditions and habitats that delimit where a species can live.
Species distribution modeling: Methods that estimate or predict where species occur from environmental data and observed distributions. Niche-related environmental limits provide a basis for predicting potential geographic ranges.
Ecological tolerance: The range of environmental conditions within which an organism can survive and reproduce. Tolerance describes conditions a species can endure, while niche also includes resources and interactions.
Limiting factor: A condition or resource that restricts the growth, abundance, or distribution of organisms. Limiting factors set the environmental boundaries within which a species can persist.
Niche differentiation: Evolutionary or ecological divergence that reduces overlap in resource use between competing species. Differentiation can lessen competition and permit similar species to coexist.
Charles Elton: A British ecologist who described animal niches in terms of their roles and relations in communities. Elton’s account foregrounded a species’ functional role, especially its feeding relations.
Invasive species: A non-native species whose introduction and spread cause ecological, economic, or other harm. Niche opportunities and interactions help explain where introduced species establish and spread.
Species distribution: The geographic area in which a species occurs. A distribution maps where a species is found; its niche helps explain why it occurs there.

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